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Reading Booklet Summer 2018

Key Stage 1 English Reading

The Amazing Amazon

Pages 5–7

Hide and SeekPages 1–4

Photos courtesy of Jon Cooper (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence

Hide-and-Seek

Useful words

canopy

poisonous

rainforest

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Tomas was one of the last golden lion tamarins left in the Amazon rainforest. Much of the Amazon had been cut down by selfish humans and Tomas’s family lived in a tall rubber tree right on the very edge of the forest that was left.

Every day, Tomas would play hide-and-seek with his mum. Sometimes, he would sit for hours watching the speedy spider monkeys swinging from nearby branches. They had sleek, black fur and moved so fast it seemed as if they were flying. Tomas wanted to be just like them but instead of jet-black fur and long arms, Tomas was tiny and bright orange. Every day, as Tomas watched them dive and leap and swing, not once did the spider monkeys ever notice he was there.

One day, Tomas was sitting in his rubber tree watching a poisonous snake wrap itself around a branch. “The Amazon is so dangerous!” Tomas whispered to his mum, feeling a little worried. “I wish I was fast like a spider monkey. Then I could escape from the jaguars, snakes and eagles.”

His mother laughed. “You are too good at hiding for that snake to see you, little Tomas. Come on, count to ten!” She tagged him and climbed up another tree.

“Hey!” Tomas shouted.

She swiftly disappeared behind some dark leaves and Tomas quickly followed her. As soon as his head popped through the leaves, he was greeted by bright sunshine.

“You’ve found me!” his mum laughed.

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“Where are we?” Tomas asked. The bright light had made his eyes water.

“We’re in the canopy. It’s the highest part of the rainforest,” his mum replied.

Tomas blinked and looked all the way around. He was on top of the widest, tallest tree in the Amazon. The rainforest stretched out as far as he could see on one side. On the other side, he could see nothing but blue. “What’s that?” he asked.

“It is the edge of our world,” his mother replied. “It is known as the ocean.”

“Wow,” he said. Then Tomas looked up. He shivered. He could see a dark shadow circling among the clouds.

“That is the harpy eagle,” his mother said.

The wind blew gently at Tomas’s fiery-orange mane and he crouched low between the leaves so the eagle couldn’t see him.

“There are many dangers in the Amazon, little Tomas. Fast spider monkeys can escape jaguars, snakes and eagles but they cannot escape everything.”

“What do you mean?” Tomas asked.

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“Look down,” said his mum. “Can you see the smoke where the trees should be? Can you hear the noise?”

Tomas looked carefully. “Yes,” he said. He had never noticed it before.

“That is a city,” his mum explained. “It is where humans live.”

Tomas shivered again. Humans were the reason there were so few golden lion tamarins left in the world. Being so close to them made him feel nervous.

“We are the last of the golden lion tamarins,” his mum said. “Swinging quickly might not save us but perhaps hiding will!” With that, Tomas’s mum pushed him beneath the canopy. “Your turn!” she said. “I’ll count to ten!”

Tomas laughed as he sped away to hide. Suddenly, all thoughts of fast-moving spider monkeys left his mind. He was a golden lion tamarin. He was born to hide and that’s exactly what he was going to do!

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The Amazing Amazon

Useful words

countries

oxygen

species

warn

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The Amazon River is one of the largest rivers in the world. It flows through lots of different countries in South America and is over 4000 miles long!

The area the river runs through is called the Amazon rainforest. This huge rainforest is home to thousands of plants and animals, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The Amazing Amazon

What Is a Rainforest?Just as their name suggests, rainforests are forests that have a lot of rain! In some parts of the rainforest, it rains every day.

Rainforests are found in hot, tropical parts of the world. They are sometimes described as ‘the lungs of the Earth’. The trees in the rainforests create a lot of oxygen, which humans and animals need to breathe. This makes rainforests very important places.

The Future of the Amazon RainforestSadly, the Amazon rainforest is under threat. Every year, humans cut down thousands of trees for their wood or to make space for farms and houses. This is terrible for the animals that live in the rainforest as the trees are their homes.

Check out websites like www.wwf.org.uk to find out how you can help!

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Howler Monkeys

Howler monkeys are the largest monkeys in the Amazon and they are really loud! They shout to warn off other groups of howler monkeys.

Amazing fact: These monkeys are so loud that they can be heard up to three miles away!

Squirrel Monkeys

These little monkeys love nibbling on insects and small fruits. They are great climbers and hang around in groups of up to 300.

Amazing fact: Squirrel monkeys love to make friends. They often live with other types of monkeys and sometimes they even live with birds!

Spider Monkeys

Spider monkeys are fast climbers who love swinging through the treetops. They are playful monkeys who sometimes use their tails to hang from branches.

Amazing fact: Spider monkeys have really strong grips but they don’t have any thumbs.

Golden Lion Tamarins

Golden lion tamarins are endangered, which means there aren’t very many of them left in the wild. They live high in the trees near to the sea.

Amazing fact: Golden lion tamarins have manes just like lions. That’s where they get their name from.

The Amazing AmazonMonkeys of the AmazonMany different species of animal call the Amazon rainforest home, including lots of different types of monkeys. These are some of the creatures who are at risk of losing their home:

Did You Know...? A group of monkeys is called a ‘troop’.Photos courtesy of TRAPHITO, cegoh, joelfotos, zooadmin(@/pixabayflickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence

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